Mysuru, Oct. 23 (BLU&VNS)- There appears to be no fear of the law among those engaged in unlawful sex determination and pregnancy termination, as such cases continue to surface despite repeated crackdowns by authorities. In yet another incident, officials from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, with the assistance of the Police, conducted a decoy operation and raided a sex determination centre at Hanuganahalli on Bannur Road, on the outskirts of Mysuru yesterday.

During the operation, officers arrested four persons, including a nurse, for their alleged involvement in the racket. The team recovered evidence indicating that the facility was being used for unlawful prenatal gender testing and pregnancy termination.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint team comprising Mysuru District Health Officer (DHO) Dr. P.C. Kumaraswamy, Mandya DHO Dr. Mohan and other officials, led by Dr. Vivek Dorai, Deputy Director and Nodal Officer for the implementation of the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment (KPME) Act and the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) (PC-PNDT) Act, conducted a raid on a farmhouse along Bannur Road yesterday.

Rs. 3 lakh cash, diary seized

During the operation, officials discovered a unlawful sex determination unit being operated within the premises. The team seized diagnostic equipment used for prenatal testing, along with cash exceeding Rs. 3 lakh that was found stored in a locker.

The raiding team also recovered a diary that has details about the money received from clients as charges for sex determination and termination in the past.

Varuna Police personnel present on the spot took the custody of four persons — a nurse, her brother and husbands of two women brought for tests — who are now questioned to ascertain details of others involved.

‘Operation Decoy’

The team, with the assistance of a pregnant woman acting as a decoy, approached the illegal unit seeking sex determination. During the operation, officials found two other pregnant women accompanied by their husbands who were already undergoing similar tests.

The team, supported by the Police, subsequently seized the equipment and cash from the premises and took into custody both the operators of the unit and the couples who had come for testing for further questioning.

According to Mysuru DHO Dr. P.C. Kumaraswamy, those involved in the racket target women from rural areas who are around three months and ten days pregnant, offering to determine the sex of the foetus. If the foetus is found to be female, the pregnancy is often illegally terminated, he added.

Dr. Kumaraswamy also mentioned that among the two pregnant women who had come for the tests, one was already a mother to a girl child, and the other was the mother of two girls.

Rs. 25,000 for sex determination

Further, the sources said the team subjected the women to pregnancy termination only when the foetus was identified as a female. While they charged Rs. 25,000 for the determination of sex, additional Rs. 30,000 was charged for the termination of pregnancy.

A case has been registered with Varuna Police.

A similar case was unearthed in Mysuru and Mandya in 2023, which had led to arrest of a doctor, a lab technician and two others.